1. Technical Field
This invention relates to an apparatus for dispensing medication, such as tablets, pills, capsules and the like, and particularly to such an apparatus which protects the medication from degrading influences while at the same time allowing the medication to be carried with a person at all times.
2. Background Art
Medication in solid form such as tablets, pills, capsules or the like (hereinafter collectively referred to as pills) must sometimes be carried with a person at all times. For example, a person who has angina pectoris needs to carry nitroglycerin pills in the case of an angina attack. The angina sufferer must immediately take a nitroglycerin pill orally when an attack occurs, and may need to take additional pills if the first is not successful in quelling the attack. Further, although not related to a condition causing an incapacitating attack, many people carry medication with them which must be taken regularly for convenience sake. For example, a person who must take regular doses of an antibiotic medication (in pill form) throughout the day to combat an infection would find it convenient to carry the medication in the car, to work, and other places away from home. Recently, a pill form of insulin has been introduced allowing a diabetic person to take pills throughout the day to control the disease. Thus, it will be convenient, if not necessary, for such a person to carry these insulin pills with them at all times. Allergy sufferers also tend to carry antihistamine and decongestant medications with them where ever they go. In addition, efforts are under way to create a pill form of epinephrine which could be used by persons susceptible to incapacitating, even life threatening, allergic reactions. Clearly, if such pills become available, they will be carried with the user at a all times. These are just a few of many instances where persons who must take medication regularly during a day would find it advantageous to carry it with them.
Typically, those carrying medicine in the form of pills on their person simply keep these medications in their original containers. This practice, however, has drawbacks. The original containers, such as conventional plastic pill bottles, are bulky and are not easily carried in one's pockets. In addition, to gain access to the medicine, a person must first remove the cap of the container and then single out a pill for ingestion. This task can be very difficult if the person requiring the medicine has trembling or shaking hands or the container has a child-proof cap. There may also be a cotton plug inside the container which must be removed before gaining access to the medication. Additionally, the need for the medication may occur at night or while the victim is driving, or poor eyesight may make it particularly difficult for him or her to single out a pill for ingestion. Further, once the cap has been removed, the pills could be easily spilled and the user may not be able to find them in time to prevent harm, or alternately the medication could become contaminated and useless.
Sometimes, medication is transferred to small containers designed to allow a person to carry a few pills with them more conveniently than employing the original pill bottle. For example, nitroglycerin tablets are often carried in a small tube with an inside diameter just larger than the pills themselves. Usually five to seven pills are stacked one on top of another in this tube. Unfortunately, these containers are known to fail such as when the cap which seals the tube becomes cross-threaded and stuck thereby making it difficult to remove. The pills can also be crushed by the cap if too many are loaded within the dispenser, and if space is left to avoid this problem, vibration of the pills increases. Vibration has been known to powderize the nitroglycerin pills to the point where they become jammed within the tube and cannot be extracted. Additionally, when the pills become pulverized the dosage is then uncertain. Another problem with these tube dispensers is that like the larger containers, the pills stacked within the tube can be easily spilled. This is especially true when the user is incapacitated in some way. The dispenser is also difficult to load, especially for someone with poor sight or impaired dexterity, because the containers are very small. It is also often difficult to ascertain the number of pills in the container, or whether they are stacked properly.
Some of the same problems also manifest themselves in other commercially available pill containers. For example, so-called pill organizers are available. These organizers typically include multiple pill compartments each having a re-closeable hinged lid. One or more pills are placed into each compartment and the lid is closed. The lid is subsequently snapped open to gain access to the pill(s). Although such containers provide a convenient way to store and organize pills, they are not well suited for protecting the pills contained therein from the rigors of being carried around by the user. For instance, the person carrying the pills may be walking, running, or exercising, thereby subjecting the pills to shock and vibration as they bounce around inside the container. The resulting shock and vibration can cause the pills to break up or powderize. Nitroglycerin is especially susceptible to degradation due to shock and vibration. These pills are very soft, having a consistency similar to compacted powdered sugar, and are easily pulverized if allowed to bounce around inside a container.
In addition to vibration and shock, the above-described pill containers also do not adequately protect the pills from other environmental factors which can degrade the medication. Moisture, high humidity, high temperatures, and even light can degrade some medications. The aforementioned pill bottles and organizers are not designed to seal or insulate the pills within, and so the pills can be affected by the aforementioned environmental factors. It is easy to imagine that such conditions could be encountered as the pills are carried outdoors, through industrial processing areas, and the like by the user. Even the aforementioned specially designed pill containers do not provide complete protection. Although the pills may be sealed once they are closed within these specially designed containers, they must be placed into the container and removed therefrom for ingestion. The mere fact that the pills have to be handled can degrade some medications. For example, nitroglycerin can be adversely affected by the moisture on one's hands when they are handled during loading or unloading of the pill container.
Pills are sometimes packaged in so-called soft or blister packs. These packs typically have multiple compartments, each of which contains a single dose of medication which is sealed within the compartment. Thus, the pills are protected against moisture and high humidity conditions. An individual compartment can be opened exclusive of the rest to obtained access to the pill held inside. Typically, this involves peeling back a covering forming a part of the pill compartment or pushing the pill through a frangible wall of the compartment. A blister pack permits the handling of a single dose of medication at a time, and minimizes the risk of contamination of the remaining pills. In addition, these blister packs are pre-packaged by the pill manufacturer and so there is no handling required by the user to load the pills as with the aforementioned pill containers.
It is well known to place blister packs into pill dispensers which house the pack and allow the pills to be extracted. These dispensers often have devices to assist in extracting the pill from a compartment of the pack. Typically, this involves some sort of plunger which pushes on the top of the compartment so as to push the pill through a frangible bottom covering. However, heretofore the intent behind such dispensers has been simply to facilitate extraction of the pill, rather than to protect the pills from the environmental hazard that are encountered when someone carries the medication with them. In fact, these dispensers are typically designed so that the blister pack compartments could be seen by the user. This allows the user to see where the remaining pills reside. For example, such a visual access is an important feature of dispensers for some types of birth control pills. Blister packs containing these birth control pills actually contain a series of different pills which must be taken in a specific sequence over the course of a month. Thus, the dispensers are designed so that the user can see the pills so that they can be taken in order on the intended days. These dispensers often include markings which indicate the day and order in which the pills are to be taken.
As it is important to the current dispensers employing blister packs to allow visual access to the pills, they typically have openings through which at least the compartments containing the pills are exposed. In addition, these dispensers typically have openings adjacent the frangible bottom wall of the blister pack pill compartments through which the pill is extracted. Thus, even though the pills are sealed within the blister pack compartment, the compartments are susceptible to puncture or damage which would jeopardize the pill contained within. For example, if such a dispenser were to be carried with the user in a pocket or handbag, items such as pens, keys, and the like could puncture the blister pack compartments or push the pill hard enough to tear the frangible bottom covering. This would expose the pills to moisture and humidity. The open structure of these dispensers also provides no protection against the degrading effects of heat; and also light assuming the pill compartment has a transparent top covering which is typically the case. It is also noted that the blister packs are usually loosely supported within the dispensers and the pills themselves are often able to move within the blister pack compartment. Thus, potentially degrading levels of shock and vibration caused by the movements of the person carrying the dispenser could be transmitted to the pills.
Accordingly, there is a need for a pill dispenser which overcomes the problems associated with current pill containers and dispensers. This improved pill dispenser would be small and lightweight such that it can be conveniently carried with a person at all times. The dispenser would also protect each pill contained within the dispenser from the detrimental effects associated with it being carried on the user's person, such as by moisture, high humidity, high temperature, light, shock and vibration. Further, the dispenser would be easy to use even when the user is in an impaired state and would dispense individual doses of medicine without the user having to touch them.